


The Second Beginning

by snusnu95



Series: The Ryders [1]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Adorable sibling moments, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Edited to fit within canon, F/F, Lost Love, One-Shots, Pre Mass Effect Andromeda release, Sibling Banter, Sibling Rivalry, Third Person POV, au backstories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-25 06:57:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9808271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snusnu95/pseuds/snusnu95
Summary: Sara and Scott both have their stories; and they both feel a variety of emotions as they prepare to leave for Andromeda for their second beginning. Sara struggles to let go of her love, while Scott wants to step out of his father's shadow and make a name for himself.NOTE: I am editing this fic to fit within the game's canon. SPOILERS for in-game content.





	1. Sara's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had an idea; wrote it down and it's the best piece of writing I've done for a while. I know this is for a game that isn't out yet, but, I wanted my Ryder's to have their own personal backstories. I'm planning to play Sara but I still want Scott to be fleshed out, and for me this is how I envision the twins to be. Hope everyone enjoys!
> 
> EDIT: Okay, now the game is out I'm editing both chapters to fit within canon while still remaining true to what I had written. Sara's has been edited first, with Scott's on the way (his will be a more heavy edit).

_**2185** _   
_**Milky Way Galaxy**_

**Sara Ryder**

She couldn’t quite believe that she would never be coming back here.

Sara Ryder strolled through the Zakera ward of the Citadel; glancing up at shop signs, her eyes flickering to different people from varying different species. Two krogan trying to dispel the rumour of whether fish lived in the presidium (spoiler:  they didn’t, but she wasn’t about to tell an angry krogan that); a couple of salarians were arguing over their latest game in their favourite series. She smiled as she watched others - humans, turians, asari, hanar, elcor, volus and the occasional quarian or drell. She had seen a turquoise coloured drell pass her this morning, the young man looking awfully concerned about something she would probably never know.

Yet, she would see none of this again. The Citadel was her home, for lack of a better word. She, and her twin brother Scott, were born and raised here. Albeit, they moved around a lot due to their father’s work but somehow the both of them always seemed to end up back on the Citadel.

Everything she had learnt, everything was going to be put to the test when they left for Andromeda. Granted, she didn’t even know if she was going to make it. Cryostasis was largely untested; but Sara remained hopeful she, her brother, her father and the other 20,000 humans on ark Hyperion would wake up alive and well. Alive and well in a galaxy very, _very_ far away 600 years from now. The thought frightened her; 600 years.

How many people would be alive in 600 years’ time? The salarians still adamantly bickering about their game surely wouldn’t be; they’d be gone within 30 years tops. The krogan? Depending on how old they were there was a possibility they would be still around. But, other than the krogan or asari, no one here would be alive in 600 years’ time. When she awoke to live the rest of her days, these people would all be gone.

Would there be ancient civilisations to study? She was sure there would be; but that had been her passion. She had invested all of her energy into studying prothean ruins. Sara gritted her teeth; it all seemed like a waste now. She had plethora of useless knowledge about a dead race that wasn’t relevant where she was going.

She saw no choice and felt she had to go to Andromeda. When Alec had tinkered with AI technology, he had blacklisted himself and everyone in his family – this included her and Scott; they had lost their positions in the Alliance, they had lost everything – and for what? Their mother still died; her body six feet under in a random field somewhere in Rio. 

She approached the skycars, gripping the railing and biting her lip to try and stop herself from crying.  To prepare for this she had seen numerous psychiatrists whom had deemed her in excellent mental health for this journey, despite all of the pain she had suffered in her twenty-two years of life. Part of her was excited to see what would be on the other side; there was only so much you could see from a modified geth telescope.

Yet she was scared too. Very scared. There was still one thing that tied her to the Milky Way, a reason she didn’t want to leave. She knew there was no backing out now, not two weeks out from the journey, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of dread.

She felt fingers dig into her sides and jumped in fright, her elbow smacking someone in the abdomen.

“Oof,” the familiar voice said, in obvious pain.

“Scott you asshole!” Sara laughed once she realised who it was “Don’t do that!”

“Noted,” Scott replied, still clutching at his stomach.

“What are you doing over here?”

Scott shrugged, “I got bored,” he admitted, a cheeky glint in his blue eyes, “decided to go for a walk and then I saw my favourite sister standing here.” 

“I’m your only sister you dork,” Sara rolled her eyes, a grin coming to her face.

“Actually you’re the dork,” Scott teased, but became serious once more, “how are you feeling?”  

“I…don’t know. Do you reckon this is the right thing?” the anxiety perking in her voice.

Scott took his time in answering, “I think so. There’s not much we can do now here, Dad ruined everything.”

“Pretty much,” Sara agreed, hanging her head. She felt an arm around her shoulder, Scott smiled down at her.

“We’ll be okay,” Scott tried to comfort her, but he was always a little awkward, “why exactly are you hanging in Zakera anyway?”

“Oh, I’m…I have to…” Sara remembered the entire reason she was here, and the heart she was about to break.  

“Ah,” Scott nodded in recognition, “well, I’ll leave you to it I guess? Afterward we can get shitfaced?”

“Sounds good,” she gave her a brother a quick hug before he set off again. She watched him go, and saw him wink at a gaggle of young turian females. Sara rolled her eyes before leaning on the railing. Her heart began to race, maybe if someone shoved her in a stasis pod now she wouldn’t have to think about it.

The woman she loved, the woman she would die for…the woman who she was going to abandon.  

Goya.

Even as she thought about Goya, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of bliss even amongst the sadness. Sara was sixteen when she had met Goya. Sara was a fresh faced, carefree teenager who had developed a rebellious streak. Making out with women in dark corners of the Citadel, underage drinking of ryncol with young krogans, that kind of trash. She had rebelled against her father’s tight regime, but after a long chat he eventually loosened the reins and she stopped acting like a moron.

And that’s when she had met Goya.

Goya D’Szale; a 184 year old asari maiden, at the time, had crossed her path as she was attempting to get her life back in order. The gentleness of the asari had her in awe; from her aqua skin, to her soft facial markings that accentuated her violet eyes; Sara was star struck from day dot.

Goya was experimenting in a galaxy that offered a wealth of opportunities for a young asari. She had come to the citadel to have a fresh start, away from her controlling mother and conservative turian father.

And they had grown attached; attached to the point that the only person she made out with in the dark corners of the citadel was Goya; and Goya had been the one to take her virginity. The two of them had entered a relationship without either of them exactly wanting it or expecting it, it had just happened. When Sara had been appointed to travel with a group studying prothean ruins within the Alliance, in which it had been Goya to spike her interest in that particular field (although Goya wanted to study history of current living races); it had strained their relationship.

Yet despite the long distance; the two of them could always make it work. Sara loved Goya with all of her heart; and now she had to break Goya’s. She was kicking herself for leaving it this late, but she didn’t want to see the disappointment in Goya’s eyes.  Sara wondered if she would ever find love again. She doubted there was a race of attractive blue babes in Andromeda, but alas, they would not be Goya.

She spotted Goya before Goya saw her; and even now the sight of her stole Sara’s breath. She was dressed in a traditional asari formal outfit, the colours going nicely with the colour of her skin. She was every bit as beautiful as before, perhaps even more so. Sara looked down at herself; back cargo pants and an Andromeda Initiative hoodie; yeah, she was the real ambassador for style.

Goya’s violet eyes met Sara’s blue ones, and Goya smiled as she floated over; “My darling,” she chimed as she pulled Sara into an embrace, which Sara reciprocated. Goya’s lips met hers, but she kept herself rigid, not wanting to make this any harder than what it already was. 

“Are you okay?” Goya asked as the two of them strolled down toward the food court, Goya grabbing Sara’s hand. Sara bit her lip to suppress her emotion, knowing that it would be one of the last times they would ever do this.

“Yes…and no…and well…” Sara couldn’t find the words to express how she felt, so she diverted it, “how have you been?”

Goya’s look of concern didn’t fade, but she didn’t press it, “quite well aside from missing your arse,” Sara grinned despite herself as Goya continued, “I’ve been working while trying to figure out exactly what I’m doing. But, I’m saving and planning a trip to Earth at somepoint.”

“Anywhere in particular?” Sara asked, pretending she knew more of Earth’s geography than she really did. The only place she really knew of was Brazil, as she had spent time there when her mother was dying.

“Australia. It has the oldest culture of humans on earth that I can find, dating back 60,000 years or so. Not _especially_ old for others but for humans, that’s pretty old.”

“Prothean times old,” Sara agreed, not wanting to admit she didn’t quite know where Australia was. Earth geography was something she neither cared about nor needed.

Silence fell, and Sara made a noise in the back of the throat as she decided what she wanted to eat. However her stomach twisted uncomfortably, and she decided to skip the meal and walked over to the coffee place.  Goya drifted off to order her own stuff; and the two of them met back with their respective orders. Sara was grasping a large iced mocha, despite her dairy intolerance, and Goya with a rather appetising blue-green milky drink. The two of them found a secluded table.

“So, what did you want to tell me?” Goya asked noncommittally as she stirred her drink before taking a delicate sip.

“It’s…” the words caught in Sara’s throat and she took a sip of her drink to try and wash them down before starting again, “It’s…” but she couldn’t spit it out. She couldn’t do it.  

Goya arched her ‘eyebrow’; for a lack of a better word, but in reality, it was a light marking that connected with the ones on her cheeks that ran along where an eyebrow would be. She stayed silent, so Sara tried again.

“So, basically; you know my father was blacklisted from everything right?” Sara asked, Goya nodded and urged her to continue, “My father was asked to be a – leader, of sorts, for this ambitious exploration project. Scott and I are going with him.”

“That’s great!” Goya squealed excitedly, “he’s finally got something, and it includes the both of you! I’m so happy for you!”   

“The thing about it is-,” Sara gulped, fighting back tears, “you’re never going to see me again.”

Goya almost choked on her drink, “What?” she snorted with laughter, “Don’t play with me Sara! The galaxy is huge, but it’s not that huge!”

“No, it’s-” Sara took a deep breath, “we’re going to Andromeda.”

“Andromeda?” Goya’s smile slipped from her face.

“The galaxy that’s closest to ours; it’s about 2.5 million light years away.”

“I know what Andromeda is. So…you’re going to a galaxy that’s 2.5 million light years away?” Goya repeated the words, as if trying to make sense of them.

“Yes,” Sara felt the emotion tearing at her insides, and wanting to evacuate via her tear ducts, “it’s a 600 year journey.”

“You’re never coming back?”

Goya caught on quickly.

“No.”

For the first time since Sara had known her; Goya was lost for words, so Sara ploughed on, fearing the uncomfortable silence, “you will be alive when I reach Andromeda.”

“I’ll be a matriarch,” Goya whispered.

Sara merely nodded, the contents of her stomach churning. Goya pushed her own drink away from her; “I never thought, never _dreamed_ you would ever be alive when I was a matriarch. Yet, you will be and I can’t even contact you?”

“I’m so sorry,” Sara couldn’t help it, the tears began to fall and she desperately wiped them from her face.

“So we don’t get our ‘happily ever after’?” Goya asked; Sara could see the tears swimming behind her eyes, “why?”

“The project has been a thing since I was about fifteen; I always thought it would never go ahead. Dad seemed passionate about it, but it never really moved. And then in the last few years, after Mum died, after Dad was kicked out of the Alliance…we’ve got no choice. The name ‘Ryder’ is a joke.”

“It’s not a joke to me,” Goya whispered and Sara’s heart broke, the tears being set free and rolling thick and fast down her cheeks. Goya’s voice shook, “why didn’t you tell me?”

“I couldn’t bear to hurt you…” Sara whispered, holding her face in her hands.

“I could’ve come with you,” Goya replied.

At this Sara scoffed, “Goya, I know you. This is not something you’d want to do. This is a one way trip.”

“But-,”

“The only reason you would’ve come would be for me. And then, I’d be dead after what? 120 years? Then what? Your place is here.”

Goya opened her mouth, but closed it again, “I just wish you had told me sooner.”

“I know.”

“When do you leave?”

“In two weeks.”

“Two _weeks?_ ” Goya’s voice raised an octave.

“Scott and I are spending a week here, and then spend a week on Earth before we leave.”

“We asari, we are used to the idea of only living perhaps a 10th, or a 20th of our lifespan with a partner. But, this is nothing like that. We only had seven years; most asari get longer than that with a vorcha.”

“I know,” Sara couldn’t meet her eyes, and stirred her half-melted drink with her straw.

“And even those seven years, for five of them you’ve been gone most of the time. Once you go,” Goya’s voice trembled, “you’re gone. It’s going to be like you died.”

Sara couldn’t think of anything to say, so Goya pressed on, “I don’t even know what I’m feeling. But, I do know I need to spend as much time with you as I can.”

“I think I’m okay with that,” Sara admitted, “I thought you’d be angrier.”

“I can’t stop you and to be honest I think I’m still in shock. But, I don’t want my last memories with you to be angry or bitter. I can deal with my anger after you leave. I’ll have the rest of my life to do that.”  

Sara flinched at the brutal honesty, but looked up. Goya grabbed her wrist, pulling it away from Sara’s face and held her hand. They simply sat, not speaking yet communicating all of the feelings they had non-verbally. Eventually Sara realised she had to get moving.

“I was planning to get blind drunk with Scott, if you’d like to join us?” Sara offered.

“I’ll pass,” Goya gave a small smile, “I need to go and think for a while; but I’ll be over in the morning to comfort you when you’ve got your massive hangover. Just make sure Scott is wearing pants this time.”

Sara chuckled, “I’ll make sure. See you soon,” Sara replied, standing and abandoning her half-full coffee. Goya rose as well, and the two of them embraced once more before parting ways. Her heart ached for the asari, and the tears continued to fall as she watched Goya disappear into the crowd. She couldn’t go back to Scott in this state, not yet. She made her way to the skycars – maybe the presidium would clear her head.

xXx

Despite mellowing out in her twenties and developing a disinterest in nightlife; Sara had the most action packed fun week possible. She and Goya were practically inseparable. They hit up the clubs, Ryder dancing so much her legs began to hurt; they tried to go to a different restaurant each time they needed food and by night time they would pass out side-by-side yet wake up arm-in-arm.

But the day was drawing ever closer; and Sara startled awake on the day she had to leave. She sat up, Goya’s arm still around her waist. She reached for her clothing, and tried not to wake her. They had a few hours; but the minute she climbed out of bed Goya was awake.

“It’s today,” Goya mumbled, rubbing at her eyes. Sara turned away and pulled into her slacks.

“I know,” Sara muttered. The morning was rather uneventful; Scott having his usual large breakfast while Sara’s stomach churned too much to digest anything. Goya had not let go of her hand, and still refused to when the three of them walked through the citadel to the docking bay where the ship that was headed to Earth was leaving from.

People were boarding; average everyday looking humans alongside several other alien races. Scott and Sara had requested to not have special transport made, as they would rather make their way with as little fuss as possible.

“Our ship leaves in five minutes,” Scott said as he read the departure board, turning toward Sara and then glancing at Goya, “I’ll meet you on the ship sis.”

“Okay,” Sara replied. Goya’s bottom lip was trembling and her eyes swam with tears.

“What am I supposed to say?” Goya whispered, taking Sara’s hands and holding them tight in her own.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Sara replied, the tears swimming in her eyes too, “just, hold me.”

They held each other for several seconds; Sara trying to take in as much as she possibly could. Goya cupped her face and their lips met for several longer seconds before she stepped back, and Sara’s hands slid from her grasp. She felt cold once she wasn’t in Goya’s grasp, and took gentle steps toward the ship. She handed the officer her identification, and looked back one last time to see Goya standing stoically, tears sliding down her face.

Sara swallowed, before turning her back on her love and entering the ship. Scott stood waiting at the door, and his face fell when he saw Sara. She ran her sleeve over her face, trying to rid the evidence. Scott threw a comforting arm over Sara’s shoulders as they walked deeper into the ship.

Times were hard; but hopefully 600 years would give Goya ample time to move on and enjoy her life. For Sara, she would still be in the same stage of grief in that time as unlike Goya, she would not grow and change. She would be exactly the same; same look, same mindset, same everything. The same pain.

Hopefully the adventure in Andromeda would make this pain worth it.

xXx

Fully dressed and wanting to run for the nearest airlock, Sara sat anxiously in the room she shared with Scott, her tapping leg out of her control. For some reason, everyone had their own rooms except for them. Even fraternal twins of differing genders were considered the same person.

“I feel as nervous as you look,” Scott called out as he pulled his shirt on. Sara nodded, knowing that despite his usual relaxed demeanour, her brother was having doubts too. Once cryostasis started there was no going back.

Sara went through her bag again; while every recruit had clothing and toiletries provided for them, each person was allowed a small bag of personal items to take. Sara rummaged through hers, finding her large collection of music, vids, and e-books. Her vid collection was mainly family memories and famous speeches and moments in history, including Commander Shepard’s spectre induction. Her hand brushed against her datapads containing eons of prothean research; useless really but Sara couldn't bear to part with her hard work. Her most prized possession she pulled out, a hardcopy of a photo. She saw her own smiling face staring back at her, arm around Goya who looked infinitely happier then she had a week ago. 

A gentle hand found her shoulder, and she looked up to see Scott giving her a sad smile, “you ready?”

“Ready as I’m ever going to be.”

Sara got to her feet, and followed Scott out of the room and through the facility. They weren’t far from the shuttle; and along with several other people including their father, they were in the shuttle on the way to the Hyperion.

Once they had landed; they began the crawl towards the pod room. It felt like a death march to Sara as her feet carried her though the sterile hallways. They were instructed to give their personal items to staff to place in lockers, in which they would retrieve them when they arrived. Sara reluctantly handed hers over, feeling like she was giving everything she ever was. What they didn’t know was she had hidden the picture of her and Goya up her sleeve.

They reached a checkpoint where Alec stood with the staff, “my children – this way,” and the staff let them through. Alec grabbed Sara and Scott by the shoulders and held them steadfast for a few moments, “I’ll see you in Andromeda; I love you both.”

Sara was taken aback, she couldn’t remember the last time Alec had said that he loved her, and judging by Scott’s confused look, he couldn’t either.

The two of them entered the pod room; where there were thousands of pods lining the walls. Right down the very end were their respective pods. Right next to each other; Sara smiled when she realised she had been given the pod before Scott’s.  

“Why do I get the one after you?” Scott asked incredulously.

“Because I’m your elder,” Sara teased back, trying to use humour to quell her anxiety – her knees were beginning to knock together. They sat on the edge of their pods for a while, merely chatting as more people filed into the room.

However, as people were climbing into the pods; Sara realised that their time in the Milky Way galaxy was up, “well, Scott, this is it.”

“It sure is,” Scott agreed. The two of them grabbed each other’s hand and did the ‘bro-fist-handshake’ which as Sara thought about it, realised it was really lame. But they had done it since childhood.

Sara climbed into her pod and looked over at Scott who had done the same; they linked eyes, “See you in Andromeda,” Sara said.

Scott merely nodded, and Sara lay in her pod, the door going over her, blocking out the sounds. Through the little window she took in as much as possible. Once her eyes closed for more than several seconds, the cryostasis would activate and she would not wake up for 600 years.

She pulled the photo of her and Goya out and held it in front of her eyes; and dorkily gave it a kiss, because no one was going to see or care, before shoving it back up her sleeve. Sara finally relented; and resting her hands on her stomach; closed her eyes; one final thought swimming around her skull:

_Until Andromeda…_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking of writing Scott's version next; same story just differing chapters for the both of them. I'm already in love with both characters, and for the first time I'm considering using the default characters rather than trying to customise. 
> 
> Tiny 'author inserts' include Sara not knowing where Australia is (my home country), and Goya being 190 in 2185. This makes her birth year 1995, which is also my own. Because, I do stuff like that :P


	2. Scott's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare for double trouble! Scott's section is full of angst and shitty jokes; as well as A LOT of adorable sibling moments. I don't have a sibling myself so I apologise if they seem utterly ridiculous; I was more going off what I'd want if I had a sibling! I had a blast writing this; and after re-writing twice I'm happy with the final product. Hope you all enjoy it!
> 
> EDIT: Okay, this chapter has gone through a MASSIVE edit to get it working within canon, and I'm pretty happy with it. There's a lot of beginning exposition, so I apologise.

**_2185  
Milky Way Galaxy_ **

** Scott Ryder **

He was torn about leaving this place forever.

Scott Ryder was lounging idly on his bed, datapad in one hand and an apple in the other.

“Shit, I have to go. Chat later yeah?” his friend said, his face etched with sudden hurriedness.  

“Sure Roderick, have a good shift!”

“You too,” but he saw Roderick wince, “right. Sorry. Bye.”

The call went dead, and Scott flicked his datapad to the side while taking a large bite of his apple. He grit his teeth when he thought about how he had lost his job. He had _hated_ his job; the tedious routine of it all: have breakfast, stand guard, get breaks, deal with shitty people, finish for the day and then doing it all over again the next day. Yet, he missed it. He missed feeling like he was actually accomplishing something. It had been his life for a short time before _Dad_ had ruined it.

Not that he would’ve had a chance to progress anywhere anyway, every time he had tried to sign up to either train with biotic commandos or to be considered for the N program, he had been swiftly denied by the Alliance. Now, it was because the name ‘Ryder’ was forever blacklisted, but back then, it had been because Alec didn’t want either of his children on the front lines.

His life was a bust; enlisting at eighteen, getting swiftly booted out and warned to never return with his traitorous father, his mother dying; and now this: sitting around doing nothing for weeks on end. He hated doing nothing, he wanted to feel useful and not like a burden on society. Well, it wasn’t just him. Sara had nothing to do either, but her removal from Mars had taken longer than his swift kick from Arcturus. Plus, Sara had Goya, her asari soulmate.

He had always been terribly unlucky in love, but he took the small comfort that unlike Sara he wouldn’t have to leave the love of his life.

Andromeda was the only thing keeping him sane in his current situation, and he was itching to get going. The thrill of another galaxy excited him. A galaxy in which he could start again, where the name ‘Ryder’ wasn’t tossed around as a joke and where he could _finally_ emerge out of his father’s shadow and create a name for himself.

He _refused_ to be known as Alec Ryder’s son. He was Scott Ryder dammit, and he wanted people to know that.

Finishing his apple, Scott decided to go for a walk. Moving around the Citadel gave him what felt like purpose, and he needed to do something before he punched a wall out of pure spite. One of Scott’s favourite places were the docking bays, he would sit for hours and people-watch. It wasn’t quite the same as Arcturus; he felt security was tighter yet looser at the same time. A multitude of races had to be considered here, whereas Arcturus mostly saw humans.

Arcturus had its fair share of aliens however; some legitimate business people – others not so much. He loved aliens, he remembered playing laser-tag with salarian and turian children when he had been young, but some were just _stupid_. The worst were batarians; idiotic slave raiders trying to get through to Earth to kidnap humans. Of course, they never got through because what sane batarian wanted to go to Earth for a holiday? 

The stupid ones used to come onto the station in person, yelling at anyone who would pay attention to them to let them through, and the really stupid ones would bring human slaves with them to convince them. Scott would step in here. Usually one smack from the butt of his gun worked wonders and the batarians would run off, tail between their legs. He also found threatening to scoop their eyeballs out got them going. He’d lost count at the number of people they’d manage to free from batarian clutches because those batarians were particularly stupid.

Unlike Arcturus, the customs officers here couldn’t just deny a whole species based on appearances, batarians – despite not actually having their own embassy were still welcome on the Citadel, and so papers had to be considered.  

As he people watched, a young human family had stepped out of an airlock. 

The family approached, evidently wanting clearance to come onto the Citadel. Scott found himself smiling watching the two children; a boy who looked around ten and a girl no older than seven. The boy continued to harass the girl, and her growing irritability was betrayed by the redness in her chubby cheeks. 

Scott sniggered; the children reminded him of himself and Sara. He couldn’t remember how many times he and Sara had been in situations like this; and often due to Alec’s reputation (his good reputation back in those days) they’d have to hang around a lot longer as Alec had an in-depth conversation with everyone he could possibly find. Through his boredom as a boy he would annoy Sara relentlessly. His jabs and pokes were so subtle she would be the one that’d blow up in a fit of rage and hysteria; usually in front of someone important. Alec’s lecture was always the same, ‘you’re the elder, be mature’. Sara would usually snap that she was only older by one minute. But, at that age Scott felt she rubbed it in so much she deserved to be yelled at occasionally.

He didn’t know how long he spent at the docking bay, but his stomach rumbled painfully. He made his way back to the apartment, hoping Sara would already be there.

“Sara?” he asked as he entered.

Silence, “must be with Goya,” Scott remarked as he heated up dinner and made his way to his room.    

He sat on his bed, placing his food down on the end table, a photo frame catching his eye. Once he touched it, the photo illuminated; it contained his father and mother – arm in arm and smiling along with he and Sara. It was of the day he and Sara had enlisted in the Alliance. He placed his hand over their smiling faces and sighed deeply. It had never been the same after their mum had died, any humour Alec had was zapped out of him the day they lost her.

That was the only time he had seen Alec cry, as he sat beside his dying wife while she spoke to them for the last time. It wasn’t obvious, it had been a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ moment, but it had happened. 

Scott wanted to find someone special; his parents had had each other, Sara had Goya but he had nobody. Again, he knew he had fared better in this situation as he had no one to leave behind, but he couldn’t escape the twinge in his heart. His first girlfriend had been a disaster, she dumped him because was ‘too boring’, and the second for being ‘too crazy.’

He had given up at that point, and resented the fact Sara had gotten the right person on the first try.

Whether it was sibling rivalry or no, Sara had had the better life. While he had been bumbling around in a shitty job not really knowing what he wanted, she had had her shit together. Before Alec ruined everything, Sara was comfortable in her job researching prothean ruins.

Not that Sara had always been highly praised; while Scott had been relatively level-headed, Sara had had a ‘rebellious’ streak. While Alec had always painted it in a bad light, Scott knew people who had done far worse. He didn’t consider making out with people and underage drinking to be that horrendous, but oh no, he could distinctly remember a disgruntled Alec and Sara having a screaming match in this very apartment one night about her behaviour. The only time he was ever interested in them was when they fucked up.

A bleep from his omni-tool pulled him out of his thoughts, and pulled open his messages. Someone from Arcturus had messaged him, the automated messenger function erasing swear words, leaving a sentence of eligible text from an entire paragraph. Scott snorted in disgust, and flicked his omni tool off.

He was sick of hate mail over something he knew _nothing_ about. He was sick of sitting around. He was sick of living in his father’s shady shadow. He placed the photo in a small bag of belongings he’d be taking to Andromeda, and flopped on his bed; the journey being an itch he couldn’t wait to scratch.

xXx

Scott flicked through the novel he was reading, lounging easily on the couch in the living room. The urge to go out and drink was high; but he had promised Sara he would wait. She was due back soon, surely telling Goya about the Andromeda situation shouldn’t take four hours.

His book however was proving to be a frustrating matter. The stupid program he used wasn’t co-operating and had lost his page. He groaned when he couldn’t find where he was up to.

“Stupid piece of shit,” he muttered as he continued to flick though, however he soon realised he had gone too far.

“Wait a sec,” he muttered idly, and then his eyes skimmed over a line detailing his favourite character’s death, “Fuck! I’ve just spoilt it! God you stupid piece of shit,” and with the aid of his biotics threw the datapad across the room. It hit the wall with a satisfying smack. 

“Spoilt what?”

His head shot up to see his sister had entered the apartment. Sara’s eyes were red and puffy, and her sniffles were audible even though she was across the room.

“The ending of my book, stupid program,” he muttered, but jumped up from the couch, “you were gone a while,” he mentioned casually.

“I went for a walk,” Sara shrugged, not making eye contact with him.

“Did you tell her?”

“I did,” Sara replied, “she wasn’t exactly thrilled.”

“I’m sorry sis,” Scott replied gently, continuing to take measured steps toward her and placing his hands on her shoulders. He was used to comforting her; Sara cried every time she had to leave the Citadel to go on another dig, another so many months without Goya. But this time, it was forever.

“Do you still want to go out?”

Sara shook her head, “anything here?”

“We shall see,” Scott removed his hands and rubbed them together, “I wonder what alcohol Dad has stashed around!”

Sara rolled her eyes as Scott rummaged through the kitchen cupboards; his hand found a bottle and he pulled it out, “aha!” he cried.

“What is it?” Sara asked, leaning over the kitchen counter.

Scott wiped the dust off of the label, “Serrice Ice Brandy?”

Sara whistled, “That’s expensive shit.”

“Fuck it,” Scott declared, finding two brandy glasses and pouring the cerulean liquid into them, “We’re never coming back. Drink up!”

“Yes sir,” Sara mock saluted, and held the glass to her lips, but lowered it before taking a sip, “and by the way Goya said she’d be round tomorrow and requested that you wear pants this time.”

Scott spat out the mouthful of brandy he’d just had; spraying it over Sara. He laughed at Goya’s request and Sara’s misfortune of being covered in alcohol. Sara wiped at her face and flicked the liquid to her side, narrowing her eyes.

“Sorry?” Scott said, shrugging his shoulders while pouring himself more brandy. Sara rolled her eyes good-naturedly while continuing to sip her alcohol.

“Oh! I’ve got an idea! Let’s watch the most recent Blasto movie – and every time Blasto says ‘this one’ we take a shot!” Sara chirped.

“How drunk are you?” Scott laughed.

“Sober as shit, but I want to forget our worries by watching Blasto and drinking until we can’t see,” Sara replied.

“Fine then,” Scott gave in. Sara turned on the TV; she flicked through her omni-tool to find the movie and syncing it all. Scott settled in to the corner of the couch, while Sara propped her feet up on the rest of the empty couch.

“I hope Alec doesn’t get a message saying we’ve died of alcohol poisoning,” Scott commented.

“Could you imagine his face?” Sara laughed.

Scott grinned, “yes, yes I can.”

Not even an hour in and Scott’s head was swimming from the effects of the brandy; he’d lost count at the amount of times that ‘this one’ had been uttered, and he and Sara were now taking shots over the stupidest things.

“That asari was blueeeeeeeee! Shot!” Sara shouted out, her words slurring together. Scott swigged at his drink, emptying his glass for the umpteenth time. He reached for the bottle, and the brandy swished inside.

“A batarian with four eyeeeeees! Shot!” Sara cried out, taking a swig out of an empty glass.

“We’ve drunk so much,” Scott murmured, putting his eye up to the top of the botle to peer inside. Then a sharp pain had greeted his eyeball, and looking up he saw Sara had pushed the bottle against his eye; and was giggling uncontrollably. 

“Sara…whyyyy?” he slurred the last word, dropping the bottle to free both hands to express his annoyance; the bottle rolled off of the couch and onto the floor, where the rest of the brandy seeped into the carpet.

“Shit bro,” Sara hiccoughed, “you’ve poured 100 – hic – credits worth of stuff on the floor…good going.”

“We’re outta booze,” Scott replied, “reckon we can – hic – buy some?”

“Nahhhhhh,” Sara said, leaning forward and face-planting into the couch, “do you reckon we’ve had too much?”

“I dunno…” Scott whispered, leaning to the side and losing his balance and ending up on the floor, “Sara. Sara get down here.”

“Whyyyyy?” Sara swallowed her hiccup as she thumped onto the floor beside Scott, her head narrowly missing the empty bottle. 

“I don’t know…” Scott repeated, staring up at the ceiling. They simply lay beside each other, random bouts of giggling frequently occurring, as well as pointing at the ceiling and realising things existed. Scott felt his eyelids growing heavy, and fell into a drunken slumber on the lounge-room floor, his sister hiccoughing by his side.

xXx

The week on Earth flew by, and was full of information about Andromeda, combat preparation and hours and hours of information sessions. Each day exhausted Scott, and in many ways he couldn’t wait for his 600 year sleep just to stop the endless training.

It was the very last night, and Scott was unsuccessfully trying to fall asleep; his heart continued to race while his body trembled, stopping him from drifting off. He flipped over onto his other side, and saw Sara was wide awake and reading a datapad. 

“Sara; what are you doing?” Scott asked, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

“Can’t sleep; or more like I don’t want to sleep. It’s our last night in the Milky Way, and I’m sitting in a windowless room ‘resting up’. I’m about to sleep for 600 years, I don’t need to sleep now.”

“Let’s do something!” Scott perked up, realising his sister was right. Sara sat up, flicking her legs over the bed.

“Actually I’ve an idea!” her face lit up as she bounced onto her feet, “I heard a rumour! Grab your coat!” Sara said, grabbing Scott by the wrist and dragging him out of bed.

“Okay then?” Scott laughed as he let himself be pulled along, snatching his jumper and shoes before leaving their room. They tiptoed through the corridor, trying to not wake anyone. Scott pulled Sara back as a guard passed the corridor they were hiding in. Military rules died hard, and they had no idea if they were supposed to be awake and wandering around.

Finally they reached the door, and emerged outside. Scott smiled as the breeze whipped through his short hair, but shrugged into his jacket as the cold bit into him. Night was well and truly in place, it occurred to him he hadn’t seen a planetary night in a long time.

“It’s so beautiful,” Sara smiled, looking up.  Scott’s gaze followed Sara’s, and his eyes were treated to a show of light whipping through the sky.

“An aurora,” Scott hummed, in awe at the sight, “I’ve never seen one before.”

“Me either,” Sara replied, “I heard a few people talking about it, so I thought we should check it out. I’m really glad we did now.” He and Sara stepped a little way away from the buildings and stood on the grass, the breeze continuing to blow. 

“My first and last Milky Way aurora,” Scott announced, “this is a rather melancholy moment.”

“I’m still in shock that we’ll never see this again; any of this,” Sara said.

“Well you’ll get to see _this_ ,” Scott teased, indicating himself. Sara rolled her eyes good-naturedly and punched him playfully in the stomach.

“That’s the only thing that’s keeping me going,” Sara returned to seriousness, “that you and Dad will be there. I couldn’t do this without you.”

Scott met Sara's gaze; his own eyes staring back at him, and he sighed. In truth, she had far more to lose then he did. Scott was losing nothing, and gaining everything in return. His once proud name which had been reduced to nothing would be something to be proud of once more.

He just hoped he would be able to leave his father’s shadow.

Sara turned away from his gaze, wiping at her face. Wordlessly, he threw an arm around her shoulders and the two of them stood in silence, continuing to watch the aurora. Scott wiped at his face too, tears being shed as he reflected on the brevity of the situation, his very last night in a galaxy he had never really felt at home in, on a planet he had no real feeling toward.

Maybe Andromeda would be his place; where he would be able to step out and form an identity for himself, meeting aliens who didn’t know his name and their family’s legacy.

“What are you looking forward to most?” Sara asked abruptly, as if she could read his thoughts.

“Hm, I don’t know,” Scott replied carefully, “I think being in a galaxy where I can have a fresh start. I need a second beginning.”

“I understand that completely,” Sara smiled, “I think for me it has to be the new civilisations I can study, if there’s anything. What if there’s a bigger mystery than protheans?”

“The horror!” Scott said sarcastically, and then bit his lip to suppress his laughter “you’re a massive nerd.” Sara pulled away and pouted at him, hands on hips.

“And you’re an ass,” she teased, giving him a gentle shove. He retaliated by trying to ruffle her hair, which she dodged easily. She punched him in the shoulder, “oh I see how this is!” Scott shouted, easy laughter falling from his mouth.

“Come at me bro!” Sara yelled back, and slapped her chest in an effort to be tough; Scott grinned cheekily and raised his hands into fighting stance – Sara copied, but there was something he was about to do that she couldn’t. The blue aura danced around his fingertips, and he caught Sara in a stasis field.  

“Hey! No fair!” Sara protested, trying to fight off the dark energy that had encased her form. He pulled her into a headlock, and ruffled her hair. Sara vigorously pulled against his grasp, and probably would’ve managed to free herself if he hadn’t had biotics aiding him.

“What are you two doing?” a gruff voice came out of the silence.

Scott and Sara both turned toward the sound, and saw a silhouette standing not too far from them. Scott unwound his arm and stood at his full height, while Sara fixed her ponytail which had gone lopsided.

Alec Ryder stepped forward, still intimidating despite being in pyjamas, “what are you two doing?” he repeated.

“Uhh,” Scott rubbed at the back of his neck, while Sara had become obsessed with her shoes; Alec’s eyes narrowed slightly, “we didn’t want to sleep,” Scott admitted, tripping over his words.

“You should-,” Alec began but Sara interrupted.

“C’mon Dad, we’re about to sleep for 600 years. I think we can be awake for just a little longer.”

Alec rolled his eyes, “you two are twenty-two but act like you’re twelve.”

“Hey! That’s not fair! Sara’s the one that’s twelve, not me!” Scott replied. His arm twinged from the punch he had received from Sara.

“Ass,” she mumbled and he laughed at her.

Alec sighed from gritted teeth; “what were you doing before your wrestling match?” Alec marched between them.

“We were looking at that,” Sara said simply, pointing upward.

Alec’s gaze found the aurora dancing above them, which had doubled in intensity now. He let out a weary sigh, “ah.”

“Earth is your home Dad; did you see auroras where you grew up?” Sara asked.

“I grew up in the Sierra Nevada region in North America, no auroras anywhere near there,” Alec explained.

“Yeeeah I don’t know where that is,” Sara admitted, rubbing the back of her neck, “I couldn’t tell you where we are now.”

“We’re in New Zealand, in the very south. This aurora is the Aurora Australis,” Alec replied, and Sara nodded as though she understood.

“Hang on-,” Scott started, “You can recite the prothean alphabet backwards but don’t know where North America is?”

“Look,” Sara began, “I was kinda hopeless at geography.”

“You have no idea where we are now, do you?” Alec turned on Sara, whose cheeks tinged pink.

“I didn’t realise New Zealand was a country.”   

Alec groaned and smacked a hand to his face while Scott roared with laughter. Sara folded her arms and pouted, her face now bright red.

“We know your talents lie elsewhere sister dearest,” Scott teased, and Sara slapped him lightly on the arm, her face looking hot enough to fry an egg on. Scott clutched at his aching sides from laughing so hard, while Alec had the smallest of grins on his face.

“Do you ever find it strange that when you were our age, you didn’t know about any of the other alien races or what was truly out there?” Scott asked casually once his laughter had died away.

“Absolutely, we’ve come so far in my lifetime. We went from aliens being science fiction to prothean ruins to an entire galatic civilisation – all in sixty or so years. We had begun going through Mass Relays when I was in my early twenties, but we knew nothing of the scale of the galaxy. If you had told me when I was your age that my children would be born on the hub of galactic civilisation, I would’ve laughed and said you were crazy,” Alec said, “but look at us now; now we’re about to go to Andromeda.”

There was a long silence, Scott looked up to the aurora and stars, marvelling at the idea of previous humans that lived in such a wealthy galaxy but had been unable to access any of it. The fact that humans believed they were the only thing in the universe, that Earth was the only planet that was inhabitable; Scott shook his head to comprehend that bizarre concept.  

“Are you guys excited?” Alec asked seriously, his hazel eyes flicking between Scott and Sara.

“I’m scared,” Sara admitted. Scott peered around Alec to look at her, and she had noticeably paled.

“I know you had to give up a lot; both of you,” he added, and then turned to Sara, “I know you had to say goodbye to Goya.” Scott let out an involuntary groan, while their dad had been distant; he had always had slightly more time for Sara over him.   

He’d be lying to himself if he hadn’t had thoughts of backing out. In truth, he was shitting himself. But, Scott knew it was a stupid idea to stay behind. Their name was in shambles due to his father’s legacy and truth be told, he couldn’t bear leaving Sara. He couldn’t stomach the thought of when Sara awoke, he would be six-feet-under and a forgotten memory. No, he had to go.

“I’m excited,” Scott blurted out a little too quickly.

“Not scared?” Alec enquired, arching an eyebrow.

“No,” Scott hesitated, but picked up, “I feel like this is something I was born to do.”

Alec looked him up and down, “good,” he said simply, a hint of a smile on his face, “unlike you sprightly young people, an old man needs his rest – and to escape this cold. So I shall bid you two goodnight; I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Night Dad,” Sara said. Alec hesitated for a moment, as though he was going to hug them but seemed to change his mind at the last second. He turned on his heel and walked off. They watched him retreat back inside, the door closing behind him. Their eyes met and they both burst out laughing; their voices echoing in the night air.

“Well, I’m glad that I’m going on this journey with you Sara,” Scott confessed once their laughter had died down, “I don’t think I’d be able to handle Dad on my own.”

“Awwwh, ditto little bro,” Sara teased.

“By one minute,” Scott rolled his eyes.

“Still a minute older than you.”

Scott chuckled, “I mean who else would I go on this journey with?”

“Exactly,” Sara replied, grinning. Scott gave her a playful shove.

“Even though you’re a massive pain in the ass, you’re my best friend and I’m glad we can continue to cause a ruckus in an entirely different galaxy!”

“And you say I’m the dork!” Sara cried, “That was the dorkiest thing I’ve ever heard! But, it’s true! Watch out Andromeda aliens; Sara and Scott are coming to wreak havoc!”

“And by havoc we mean really bad jokes!”

“Hey, my jokes are good,” Sara replied, clutching her chest in a sarcastic way, “I’m offended!”

“Prepare for trouble-,” Scott began.

And Sara followed up with, “-and make it double!”

“Is that going to be our catch phrase?”

Sara gave it some thought, “Yeah, I think so.”

Scott smiled, “Good.”

Scott’s smile slid off his face as he sat down carefully on the grass. Sara joined him, and together the two of them couldn’t tear their eyes away from the sky. This was the moment he wanted to last forever – staring at the raw beauty of Earth with his favourite person by his side. 

Maybe in 600 years’ time they’d re-create this moment, and stare at the aurora made by the planet they’d call home, something they’d never done with this one. He couldn’t wait to find out what was on the other side. One repeated thought circled his head.

_Until Andromeda…_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's Scott's section! Also, I've never been drunk in my life so I'm hoping that was actually somewhat believable. I'm really wanting to write more, but I'm not sure what just yet. I think in order to write in Andromeda I'll have to wait for the game to come out so I know what is going on! Until Andromeda!


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